Nigella Lawson's Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake
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Author Notes: On creating this cake, Nigella Lawson explains, "I remember very strongly wanting to create what we call a loaf cake -- and what is generally called a pound cake Stateside -- that had a richness and squidginess of texture that this form of cake normally doesn't major in." And she did. Recipe adapted very slightly from How to Be A Domestic Goddess (Hyperion, 2005) - Genius Recipes
Makes 8-10 slices
- 1 cup soft unsalted butter
- 1 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces best bittersweet chocolate, melted
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
- Heat the oven to 375°F, put in a baking sheet in case of sticky drips later, and grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan. The lining is important as this is a very damp cake: use parchment or one of those loaf-pan-shaped paper liners.
- Cream the butter and sugar, either with a wooden spoon or with an electric hand-held mixer, then add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well. Next, fold in the melted and now slightly cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but being careful not to overbeat. You want the ingredients combined: You don't want a light, airy mass.
- Then gently add the flour, to which you've added the baking soda, alternately spoon by spoon, with the boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter. Pour into the lined loaf pan, and bake for 30 minutes. (Note: Don't let this batter come closer than 1 inch from the rim of the cake pan or it risks overflowing. Pour any excess into a smaller cake or muffin pan.)
- Turn the oven down to 325 degrees and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. The cake will still be a bit squidgy inside, so an inserted cake tester or skewer won't come out completely clean.
- Place the loaf pan on a rack, and leave to get completely cold before turning it out. (I often leave it for a day or so: like gingerbread, it improves.) Don't worry if it sinks in the middle: indeed, it will do so because it's such a dense and damp cake.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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15 days ago Penelope_B
Made it this afternoon and it was divine. Loaf was moist, yet dense, with crisp edges. Very very yummy and went down well with the family.
about 1 month ago ELLA
THIS IS THE BEST CAKE EVER!!!!! I Make it a few times a month, as a matter of fact, my butter is softening now, it is so moist and spongy you can hear it when you eat it. I love the fact that you can taste all the ingredients, this cake is the real deal.
about 1 month ago Moogers
Great cake.. I used 6 oz chocolate instead of 4, used 1/3 cup less sugar, and substituted 1/4 cup flour with cocoa powder. Would've been perfect if I used 1/4 cup less butter, and used water as instructed instead of coffee.
4 months ago alamesa
I doubled the amount of chocolate (70% dark Lindt naughty goodness) and less sugar and butter than recipe suggests. Baked for a few minutes longer than suggested too. Unbeatable!!
4 months ago Aliwaks
This looks fabulous! Oddly I do not own a loaf pan (I thought I did , no idea where it could have gone)..any suggests for alternate cooking vessel
4 months ago susanm
this cake is incredible! i, of course, tweaked as well. added a package of starbucks via to the boiling water, added the zest of one orange, doubled the melted chocolate and used less sugar. BUT, it's still the recipe and it's AMAZING. thanks nigella, and thanks food52 for posting. BTW, just had a leftover nibble out of the fridge...i might like it better cold!
4 months ago darksideofthespoon
I loved this, but I did tweak it. I subbed the water with old coffee, since that's what I pretty much always do with chocolate cake. I also replaced a portion of the flour with cocoa powder. This recipe is irresistible.
4 months ago nogaga
Just to add my experience: I made this cake in the form os small ramequins as a desert for dinner. I am a chocolate lover but the only change I made was to add a pinch of espelette pepper flakes and about a tsp of mace. It was fabulous! Great texture, great taste, not ugly at all ;) I can't say the leftover ramequins on the following days were better, but they were definitely as good as the first. I loved this.
4 months ago erinmalone
I took the advice of some others reviewers and made some substitutions with great success! I used half Muscovado sugar and half regular dark brown sugar (I had to combine as I didn't have enough of either), doubled the chocolate to 8 oz., used salted butter (again, all I had), and substituted 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder for 1/4 cup flour. I also used leftover coffee from yesterday morning instead of water. The cake is divine ... I couldn't wait till it cooled completely so there's some areas where I just picked big flakes off the top, which were soon hidden by the slumping & buckling of the cake. Wonderful intense chocolate flavor without being overly sweet (very similar to Cooks Illustrated Dark Chocolate Cupcakes).
4 months ago alamesa
Made this recently and I'm making it again today. Was delicious, gooey and very ugly but who cares?! This time will add double the amount of chocolate though and cook for a few minutes longer just so it's less messy when slicing up.
4 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I've ben dying to make this cake since you posted the recipe. I made it today and it's...ok. Really the first Genius recipe I've made that I haven't been crazy about. I did like the squidgy texture, and it was super easy. (If you line your loaf pan with foil as Maida Heatter writes about in her wonderful cookbooks, it depans easily.) I used my favorite chocolate, but it wasn't really chocolatey enough. (I should have read the comments about that...oh, well.) I thought it was a tad too sweet. I missed salt--I think it rounds out the flavors of sweet baked goods. And I usually add a little espresso powder to chocolate cake, and I missed it here. Nothing that can't be made more to my taste, but still disappointing.
4 months ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52
Hi drbabs, I hope you taste it again tomorrow (and the next day). A number of people think this cake should only be eaten after at least a day. (Though I'm not entirely in agreement -- I love the crusty edges on day 1.) Hope you like it more then!
4 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I will! (Today's my birthday--it's my birthday cake!) I'll let you know.
4 months ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52
Happy Birthday!! Now it really better live up. And if it doesn't -- maybe ganache or whipped cream with creme fraiche will help.
4 months ago Nomnomnom
I had the same experience when I first made this about a year ago. I just made it again last week after seeing this post, thinking I should give it another try, but with a bit of interference on my part. It turned out really well, with a nice cripsy top that contrasted well with the sqidgy interior. These were my substitutions: 1/2 c. espresso :) and 1/2 c. hot water (total 1 cup); 1 c. flour and 1/3 cup cocoa powder.
4 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
It was a bit better the next day--but I would definitely add coffee and salt. My co-workers, however, loved it and have requested the recipe.
4 months ago PRST
I thought the cake/loaf was lovely. I did not think it was meant to be a dense chocolate, chocolate cake. The texture is simply said-awesome, along with the meld of flavors. There are plenty of dense, extreme chocolate cake recipes out there. I love this recipe's subtleness- chocolaty without being in your face. I love how the chocolate flavor blends with the brown sugar. I love how the loaf develops flavor with time. Kudo's to Nigella for a recipe that will stand the test of time! The quality of the ingredients would certainly affect the results of a recipe like this.
4 months ago chez_mere
I made this cake and agree that something needs to be done to bump up the chocolate oomph this cake seems to deliver. I think I would try using some instant expresso next time, or using hot coffee instead of water. Maybe unsweetened chocolate too.... It was good, but I wouldn't make it according to the recipe again.
5 months ago Julie Nathan
I agreed with some of the comments below - the amount of chocolate seemed like too little for a rich chocolate cake. So I but in about 6 ounces instead of 4, removed 1/3 a cup of the flour, and added in 1/2 a cup of dutch cocoa. Results: very good. Nice rich chocolate flavor, cake is moist without feeling wet. Baked it for a bit longer than the specified amount - perhaps an extra 5 minutes. Removed it when the stick came out with "wet crumbs" per one commenter's instructions below. I think next time I might even up the chocolate more - I want a deeply rich chocolate cake but without going flourless.
5 months ago JubJub
Just popped this out of the oven, smells amazing! I probably shouldn't have had champagne whilst preparing this though, or on the other hand.. Viva la Nigella!
5 months ago PRST
The cake keeps amazingly well. It actually gets better with age. My husband ate the last piece of the cake I made the day before xmas eve. It was kept at room temperature and not even covered that well. His comments were "still moist and yummy". No need to freeze! Another note: the cake is done when a toothpick come out with very moist crumbs. Cook it a little longer if the toothpick comes out with wet batter.
5 months ago SusanGiff
Thanks for the instant response!
5 months ago SusanGiff
Quick question: Will this keep for a few days (ie, til New Year's Day)? Can it be frozen? Thanks.
5 months ago PRST
Someone made a comment that this could be baked in a 6 inch springform pan. Please note that the recipe fits perfectly in an 8 in springform pan, NOT 6 inch. Also, I had to bake it longer than the recipe times. Not sure if that was due to the different pan or that I live at a high elevation (35 minutes at 375 degrees and 25 minutes at 325 degrees).
5 months ago jean aldridge
mine sunk ALL the way down. it was almost the thickness of a brownie. great flavor though. what can i do differently next time to help it not be so flat. it did rise and bubble during baking. completely deflated during cooling
5 months ago sophiea
Should the brown sugar be packed? Just made it with loosely packed sugar, will try it tomorrow!